Culver City voters gave a ringing endorsement to a plan to repair the decaying infrastructure of their schools by voting overwhelmingly in favor of a capital improvements school bond in the June 3 primary election.
Measure CC tallied nearly 76 percent of all ballots cast, more than tripling the number of votes against it, 3, 677 to 1, 171.
“The community was ready for this to happen,” board member Katherine Paspalis said. “We had a clear mandate for this by virtue of the November election and now that we have that mandate, we’re going to move forward with what we need to do.”
Critics of the measure never really established concrete reasons why voters should reject the Culver City Unified School District’s $106 school bond initiative. One of the chief arguments was the claim that the repair estimates are inflated and there were no guarantees how the funds will be spent.
But Culver City voters appeared not to buy into those arguments. While the voter turnout numbers were typically low? less than 5,000 of the city registered voted participated in the election? the measure passed with a much higher percentage of the vote than was required.
Bond measures must meet a 55 percent threshold of all ballots cast for passage.
The school district will use general obligation bonds to fund the infrastructure repairs.
Homeowners will see disparate hikes in their property tax bills, depending on the assessed value of their home.
“What a wonderful day for Culver City students, families, and the community,” United Parents of Culver City President Jeannine Wisnosky Stehlin told the News the day after the election. “At 76 percent, the voters sent a message that they support our schools and know how important it is that our kids spend their learning days in a safe and modern environment.”
Wisnosky Stehlin’s organization, a parent group that was created over two years ago, was one of several organizations that supported and campaigned heavily in favor of Measure CC.
Paspalis said several current repair projects; the athletic fields, the Robert Frost Auditorium and the elevators at the middle and high school, will continue. But soon it will be time to look at long-range goals.
“We need to look at our master facilities plan and our needs assessment and define and examine what our top priorities will be,” Paspalis said.
In the coming months, supporters of the initiative will be monitoring how the district structures its capital improvements plan.
“We look forward to participating in the public process that will determine the prioritization and allocation of bond funds,” Wisnosky Stehlin said. “The United Parents of Culver City’s focus is on seeing the funds used in a way that benefits all children in the district equitably, that addresses the most urgent needs promptly, and that has the most looking-lasting and positive impact on our schools.”
